Hunting Game Having Human And Electromechanical Players

ABSTRACT

A hunting sport game is played in an interactive arena. The game is played by two or more sides of any size, one side having at least one human player in the arena, and the other side(s) having at least one electromechanical player. The players are provided with projection shooting weapons with which to attack opponents, which may include paintball discharging means, laser targeting means, low-voltage taser means, combinations thereof, and the like. Players, both human and electromechanical, that have been struck by a shot from an opponent&#39;s weapon are made known to the human players and are immediately disqualified from further participation in the game for at least a predetermined time.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/621,908 filed Oct. 25, 2004 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/640,556, filed Dec. 30, 2004, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to hunting sport games; more particularly, to non-virtual hunting sport games wherein a human player physically participates; and most particularly, to a hunting sport game wherein at least one human player is physically pitted against or allied with at least one electromechanical player.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

So-called “paintballs” are integral elements of a well known mock hunting sport wherein players attempt to deliver paintballs into rupturing contact with other players. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,001,880; 5,018,450; 5,393,054; 5,353,712; 5,448,951; 5,640,945; 5,762,058; 5,823,173; 5,936,190; 6,082,439; 6,145,441; 6,230,630; 6,375,981; 6,530,962; 6,574,945; and 6,615,739, the relevant disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The prior art sport or recreational activity known as “War Games” is currently one of the fastest growing sports in North America. Typically, players are arranged into two or more teams and shoot paintballs at members of the opposing teams in a hide-and-seek or capture-the-flag setting. A paintball typically is fired from a hand-held gun employing a compressed-gas charge which can accelerate the paintball without causing it to rupture within the gun. When a paintball strikes a player of an opposing team, the paintball ruptures and releases the fill material or “paint” onto that player. Any player thus marked by a ruptured paintball is disqualified from continuing in the game.

Such games are referred to herein as “real” games as opposed to “virtual” games. Such real hunting games generally require a dedicated venue, either an outdoors area having natural obstacles and shields or an indoor arena having fabricated obstacles and shields.

A limitation of all such prior art real games is that more than one player is required in order to have a game. Typically, a substantial number of players must be assembled to form teams or sides. Although a game may be played with as few as two players, most commonly each side comprises a plurality of players. This makes the game more interesting in that opposing fire may come from any of several directions at once. Further, play is commonly organized into regular leagues of teams, similar to softball or bowling leagues, making it difficult for an individual to participate with a team on the spur of the moment or when visiting a different city, for example.

What is needed in the art of real hunting sport games is a game that can be played by as few as a single human player.

Another class of prior art hunting games is the so-called video game, referred to herein as a virtual game, in which a human hunter operates a device such as a mouse or joystick to control one or more protagonists in virtual combat with one or more opponents on a CRT monitor or arcade screen. The opponents may take fantastic shapes and powers, and players may perform fantastic or cruel acts, limited only by the imaginations of the game's designer. The virtual setting or arena itself may be highly interactive, providing beneficial or harmful responses to a player's actions. All aspects of the game are generated by software programs, and all hunting situations into which the human player's mind is engaged are virtual; that is, there are no real opponents or situations or settings, and there is no physical danger to the human player. Virtual games have an advantage over real games in that typically they may be played by a single player, or by two opposing players having individual controls. Large teams and special arenas are not required.

A limitation of virtual hunting sport games is that no physical prowess is required, and consequently such games give no advantage to persons skilled in the arts of stealth, agility, reconnaissance, speed, and physical quickness. Virtual games offer no meaningful level of physical involvement and provide no healthful exercise or conditioning to the player.

What is needed in the art of virtual hunting sport games is a game involving human players physically in a semi-virtual arena.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved hunting sport game comprising one or more human players and one or more electromechanical players in an electromechanical arena.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly described, a hunting sport game in accordance with the invention comprises an interactive arena for conduct of the game. The game is played by two or more sides of any size, one side having at least one human player in the arena, and the other side(s) having at least one electromechanical player. The players are provided with projection shooting weapons with which to attack opponents, which may include paintball discharging means, laser targeting means, low-voltage taser means, combinations thereof, and the like. Optionally, the players, both human and electromechanical, that have been struck by a shot from an opponent's weapon are made known to the human players and are immediately disqualified from further participation in the game for at least a predetermined time.

Objectives for the human player or players of the game may be, for example, capturing an object in enemy territory; defending an object from capture; scoring points by any of various prescribed means; solving puzzles that require overcoming opponents; or simply shooting opponents with the weapons. An electromechanical player may play on a human team side as well as the arena side.

An electromechanical player may be a substantially self-contained robot or it may be more broadly a robotic weapon system capable of motion through several degrees of freedom, optionally including translation, and remotely controlled by a central processing unit (CPU).

The CPU may control several such players, either in coordination with each other or for independent action, as well as other interactive elements of the arena such as a scoreboard, for example. Variables of the arena may be adjusted by the CPU as desired by the human players to vary the difficulty of play, including light level, sound levels and distractions, visibility, temperature, and humidity, speed of response of the robotic weapons, range and accuracy of fire, number of robotic weapons, patterns of fire, weapon loads, sensitivity of the arena to human motion, et cetera. Arena variables may be adjusted to permit play and enjoyment by humans who are physically or mentally impaired, and who are otherwise incapable of competing with or against humans of normal capabilities in prior art facilities.

The arena and/or the human players may be provided with means, electronic or otherwise, such that the positions and rates/directions of travel of the human players may be tracked by the robots/CPU and may be used in either open-loop or closed-loop mode to assist in directing fire from the electromechanical players.

A significant advantage of an arena hunting sport game in accordance with the invention is that a single human player may play as an individual at any time without requiring additional human players as either teammates or opponents.

Another significant advantage is that a human player can be made to feel as though he/she has been physically inserted into a video game; that the experience is real but the feeling is virtual.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an automated paintball playing apparatus and environment;

FIG. 2 shows a remotely operated paintball gun and a remote trigger;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show various embodiments of a remote trigger that may be used to actuate remotely operated paintball guns;

FIG. 4 shows a human player with physical disabilities, sitting in an assistive device, having a remotely operated paintball gun attached to the assistive device and participating in the game of paintball;

FIG. 5A shows a human player hiding behind an obstacle and operating a paintball gun from a protected location;

FIG. 5B shows a human player participating in paintball game while retreating from play, and still operating a paintball gun;

FIG. 6 shows an electrical signal transmitted from a remotely operated trigger to a remotely operated paintball gun via a wired or wireless communication to activate a firing sequence of a gun;

FIG. 7 shows a plurality of remotely operated paintball guns under automated control of a local command and control center, which may also communicate with a central command and control center, in a hierarchical or other network topology or structure;

FIG. 8 shows one type of a sensor that can be used to sense the presence of a human player;

FIG. 9 shows an open loop controller for operating a paintball gun from a remote location;

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an open loop control system;

FIG. 11 shows a human player opposing an automated player using a closed loop control system;

FIG. 12 shows a plurality of human players and automated players in an arena, competing against one another in a scenario game;

FIGS. 13A and 13B show a plan view and an elevation view of an automated remotely operated paintball gun player and an opposing player, with the opposing player being targeted by the automated player.

FIG. 14 shows a timing diagram of typical events occurring during the course of a game in the automated playing environment, illustrating the processes and control algorithms required for the environment;

FIGS. 15A and 15B show one embodiment of an automated position and orientation control system for an automated, remotely operated paintball gun;

FIG. 16 shows an alternative embodiment of an automated position control system for an automated, remotely operated paintball gun;

FIGS. 17A and 17B show one embodiment of a target/scoring unit;

FIG. 18 shows one embodiment of a transmitter/receiver sensor system for detecting paintball hits;

FIG. 19 shows a feedback control system for a remotely operated paintball gun; and

FIG. 20 shows a mobile platform for a remotely operated paintball gun.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, within an arena or playing area having a boundary 22 a first human player 1 with a paintball gun 2 for firing paintballs 29 at a target/scoring unit 20 has as one of his or her objectives to capture a flag 25 in a storage unit 27 and take the flag to the storage unit 26 of the first human player 1 which is the home position of the first human player 1. The signals 28 allow the command and control unit 9 to monitor the status of multiple storage units 27 and for the presence of flags 25. The first human player 1 is matched against an automated or electromechanical player having several components including an automated player control unit 12 that is connected by a wire 19 to a command and control unit 9 that is in charge of the overall arena control including the control of multiple display units 24 providing information, video, data, time, and game statistics to support a scenario game to the first human player 1 and to spectators. Also connected to the control unit 9 by a wire 18 is a data transceiver (transmitter and receiver pair) 17 for providing information to, and receiving information from, the first human player 1. To detect the position of the first human player 1 a transmitter 3 and receiver 4 typically provide analog data on wire 11 to a signal processing unit 10 which, in turn, converts the analog data into position data that is provided to the control unit 9 on a wire 6.

The automated player has a remotely operated paintball gun 8 connected to the automated player control unit 12 on a wire 13 for firing paintballs 30 at the first human player 1. The barrel of the paintball gun 8 is positioned by an actuator 7, also connected to the automated player control unit 12 on a wire 14. An automated player status indicator 16 is connected to the automated player control unit 12 on a wire 15.

Also the arena contains an obstacle 31 and a target/scoring unit 20. The target/scoring unit 20 is connected to the control unit 9 by a wire 21. Sources of power for the field elements including the elements 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 20, and 24, which can be AC or DC electric, air, water, etc., are shown in FIG. 1 as standard wall plugs 5.

A second human player 33, like the first human player 1, can roam throughout the arena defined by the boundary 22 and pass near to the position of the automated player 8 for the purpose of attacking the target 20, capturing the flag 25 or moving into a tactical position for the aid of the first human player 1. Also, the first and second human player 1 and 33 and the automated player 8 may each be competing against the other two players.

FIG. 2 shows a remotely controllable paintball gun 49 having a barrel 50, an on-board trigger 51, a grip or mounting point 52, and a paintball hopper 53. A paint ball 54 that has been fired from the paintball gun 49 is also shown. First and second ports 55 and 56, respectively, are built into the paintball gun 49 for receiving connections that interrupt the on-board trigger 51 and enable the use of a remote trigger 57 connected to the second port 56 by a wire connection 58.

A basic concept quite common to many electronic paintball guns is that the firing sequence is initiated by a trigger pull, causing an electronic signal to initiate firing. For example, an electronic gun circuit board may be included in the gun which controls the valves to actuate the paintball gun. A trigger circuit may be included which is initiated by a micro-switch or finger touch. The trigger pulse initiates a single round, a triplet, or even a fully automatic firing mode. The port 56 on the side of the gun may optionally exist for receiving an alternate firing trigger. The port 55 allows the gun 49 to be switched between on-board triggering using the trigger 51 and remote triggering using the port 56

FIG. 3A shows a type of hand held remote trigger 60 containing a switch 61 operated by the thumb of a user. The switch can be either normally open (push to fire) or normally closed (analogous to a “dead man's switch”).

FIG. 3B shows a mouth actuated “bite to fire” switch 82. This type of switch may be embodied to accommodate a wide range of disabilities of a human player.

FIG. 4 shows a handicapped human player 92 in an assistive device, specifically a wheel chair 91, that has a remotely operated paintball gun 94 attached to the wheel chair 91. The paintball gun 94 is controlled via the wire 58 by a remote trigger 95. The paintball gun 94 is mounted to the wheel chair 91 by a mounting bracket 90.

FIG. 5A shows a protected player 96 in a protected position behind a barrier 97 holding the paintball gun 49 above the barrier and shooting paintballs 54. The player 96 is firing the paintball gun 49 with the remote trigger 57 via the wire 58.

FIG. 5B shows the player 96 on the move with the paintball gun 49 left unattended. The player 96 triggers the paintball gun 49 with the trigger 57. The trigger 57 is connected to the paintball gun 49 by the wire connection 58, although a wireless connection may be preferred to give the player 96 a larger area in which to move.

FIG. 6 is a plot of a typical trigger voltage applied to port 56 on the paintball gun 49. Although the trigger voltage is shown as a negative transition, positive transitions may be required by other paintball guns.

The firing of the paintball gun 49 can readily be accomplished with a remote signal. For example, the communication link 58 (shown in FIG. 2) could be easily implemented via radio-frequency, or infra-red such as the remote control used in a garage door opener, keylock door opener for a vehicle, TV remote, etc. Even a cell phone could be used to control the firing of the paintball gun 49. Also, a plurality of remotely operated paintball guns can be connected in a network either using wireless or wired connection.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a plurality of paintball guns 100, 101, 102, and 103 controlled by a computer or microprocessor 104 which, in turn, are connected to a computer system 105. The computer 104 is connected using a USB port in this embodiment to an I/O card 106 which provides trigger signals to paintball guns 100, 101, and 102. The I/O card 106 also provides control signals to a positioning mechanism 107 attached to the paintball gun 102 to move the paintball gun 102 with respect to elevation and horizontal rotation. The paintball gun 103 is connected to the computer 104 using a wireless connection with a wireless transmitter 108 and a wireless receiver 109. The connection between the computer 104 and the computer 105 could be wired or wireless and can be over a local area network. In operation, the computer 105 is used for fire control to control the paintball guns 100-103 and the positioning mechanism 107 via the computer 104. The computer 105 can also be used for logistics, safety, timing, etc.

FIG. 8 shows one type of player detector used by the automated system. This detector uses one or more transmitted wireless signals 110, such as light rays, RF signals, or ultrasonic beams that impinge upon a receiver sensor panel 111. When a human player 112 interrupts the passage of at least some of the signals 110 from reaching the sensor panel 111, the sensor panel provides a signal on a wired or wireless data link 113 to the automated system's computer.

Modular components could be used to reduce the unit cost. For example, a wireless communications link to control relays and motor speed controllers via an R.F. link may be used, and a micro-processor may be used to activate pneumatic devices, drive motor controllers, and perform other logical functions. The trigger pulses could be driven by serial line (USB, serial port, etc.), BASIC stamp, PIC micro-controllers, D/A, digital output card, etc., or even I/O cards that are USB connectable and software addressable. The paintball gun does not have to look like a traditional paintball gun, as long as it is functional. This basic concept allows a combined hardware and software system that can provide a complete automated playing environment.

The modular approach shown and described is readily scalable to an arbitrary number of components. For example, if a new paintball gun model comes on the market, it is only necessary to modify a component to interface between a received signal from a communications link and the new paintball gun to provide the type of input needed to drive the fire controller in the paintball gun.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an open loop control system for a paintball gun 120. A command signal from a human player sensor, controller, computer, etc. on a communication link 121 is received by an interface card 122 that converts the signal on the communication link 121 to a format that can be used by a command and signal conditioning unit 123. This reformatted signal from the interface card 122 is transferred over a communication link 124 to one or more command and signal processing units 123. The command and signal conditioning unit 123 receives the commands and issues trigger signals to the paintball gun 120. Where there are multiple command and signal conditioning units 123 receiving the same signals from the interface card 122, the command and signal conditioning unit 123 would decode an address associated with each command to determine the particular command and signal conditioning unit 123 that should respond to the command.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a more general open loop control system wherein an input signal R(t) on input line 130 to an I/O unit 131 that provides a transfer function G1 to generate a transmitted signal S(t) on line 132. This signal can be of any communication protocol such as pulse width modulation as shown in FIG. 10. The S(t) signal is input to a receiver unit 133 having a transfer function G2 to provide a command signal V(t), such as a paintball gun command, on line 134 to an actuator 135 having a transfer function G3. In FIG. 10 this command signal V(t) is shown as a pulsed signal appropriate to input to a paintball gun. The transfer function G3 provides a response Y(t) on line 136 which, in the case of a paintball gun, would be the mechanical firing mechanism producing the flight of the paintball.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a closed loop control system. A human player 140 is moving in order to capture a flag 141. A sensor 142 detects the human player 140 and sends the detection information to a loop controller 143. The controller 143 interprets the data from sensor 142 and commands a positioning system 144 and an automated paintball gun 145 to fire a paintball 146 at the human player 140. Whether the human player 140 was hit by the paintball 146 or changed his or her direction, speed, etc. would be input to the controller 143, and the controller 143 would revise the commands sent to the positioning system 144 and the automated paintball gun 145 for the next time the sensor 142 detects a human player. With a plurality of sensors and/or a plurality of automated paintball guns the command revisions would involve more complicated algorithms for the controller 143.

A closed loop control system may be either in the time domain or the frequency domain, depending upon the application. Considering a feedback loop in the large scale “big picture,” such as the player 140 attacking a position against an automatic defender, the human player 140 moves toward an opponent, or to capture the flag 141, or to compete against an objective determined by any variety of scenarios. The controller 143 such as a computer, microprocessor, programmable logic controller (PLC), etc. interprets data from one or more sensors 142 to determine position, strategy, trajectory, opportunity, threat, lethality, etc. of the human player. The controller 143 may use simple control logic of advanced game playing theory and optimization algorithms.

Scenario games are becoming increasingly popular in the paintball sport. In these settings, teams often play against one another in a simulation of various settings. In a system in accordance with the invention, either an individual, or indeed a team of human players could play against an automated system. The automated system can be programmed to respond with a wide range of difficulties—almost like a participatory video game. Players, or teams of players, could compete to improve their score, proficiency level, etc. Automated player systems could be deployed for indoor or outdoor play. Systems can be designed for easy reconfiguration (especially wireless systems) or permanent, wired installations. The system can easily be designed for use in an arena, to compete against any number of human players.

The automated players can be stationery or may be able to direct their fire, and, in advanced systems, also be able to move around in the playing arena.

FIG. 12 is a diagram representing a playing area 150 where three offensive players X1, X2, and X3 are trying to capture the flag 151, and six defensive players O1, O2, O3, O4, O5, and O6 are trying to impede or prohibit the three offensive players X1-X3 from capturing the flag 151. The offensive players X1-X3 and the defensive players O1-O6 may be human, automated, or a mixture of automated and human players. In the following discussion it is assumed that the offensive players X1-X3 are human players and that the defensive players O1-O6 are automated players. The movement of the human players X1-X3 is detected by a plurality of sensors which, in FIG. 12, are arranged to sense north-south movement by sensors S1, S2, and S3 aligned with north-south lines 152, and to sense east-west movement by sensors S4, S5, S6, and S7 aligned with east-west lines 153. The sensors shown in FIG. 12 are in a 2-d grid, but a 3-d grid of sensors could also be used. At a time t1, player X1 is at a position N1(t1), E1(t1), a short time later the system measures the opponent X1 being at positions N2(t2) and E2(t2). Using a first (or higher) order approximation the velocity of the player X1 can be estimated.

With higher resolution and accuracy, it may be possible to better track player X1's position, velocity, and acceleration, etc. Traditional and state of the art war-gaming algorithms and rules of engagement may be coded to control the response of the automated players O1-O3. Using simple equations of motion known in the art, the motion of any player, X1 for example, can be projected. Statistical algorithms can be applied, if it is necessary, to track individual players X1 and X2, for example when they converge at a point and subsequently diverge from that point.

FIG. 13A is a plan view of a portion of the playing area 150 shown in FIG. 12 wherein an automated paintball gun O1 is positioned at the origin of a graph having north as the positive abscissa 155 and east as the positive ordinate 156. The X1 player at time t1 is located at a position 157 corresponding to N1(t1), E1(t1), and at time t2 is located at a position 158 corresponding to N2(t2), E2(t2). The sensors covering the playing field 150 detect the position 157 and the direction, speed, and acceleration of the player X1, and using the simple equations of motion known in the art the position of X1 at time t2 is calculated to be the position 158. The automated paintball gun O1 is aimed at position 158 and commanded to fire a paintball such that the paintball will arrive at the position 158 at time t2.

FIG. 13B is an elevation view of the portion of the playing area 150 shown in FIG. 13A. The automated paintball gun O1 is again positioned at the origin of the graph which has a positive abscissa 160 of the vertical distance above the plane of the playing area 150, and the ordinate 161 is the plane of the playing area 150. Line 162 is the height of the center of gravity of the player X1. Using the calculated horizontal distance from the automated paint O1 to the position 158, the height of line 162, and the trajectory characteristics of a paintball (including the muzzle velocity of the paintball gun) fired from the automated paintball gun O1, the proper angle of elevation and firing time of the automated paintball gun O1 can be calculated using simple equations of motion known in the art to hit the center of gravity of the player X1 at time t2.

FIG. 14 shows two parallel time lines 165 and 166 showing the timing of some of the paintballs fired by the human paintball player X1 and the automated paintball player O1, and the responses made by the automated system to a hit on a target by the human paintball player X1 in one embodiment of the invention. In the first part of the time period the automated paintball player O1 fires a plurality of paintballs indicated by arrows 167. Later the human player X1 fires a paintball that hits a target at a time represented by arrow 168. In response to this hit, the automated system controller disables the automated paintball player O1 for a predetermined time period 170. At the beginning of this predetermined time period the automated status indicator 16 shown in FIG. 1 becomes red to indicate to the human player that the automated paintball player O1 is disabled. The automated status indicator 16 becomes yellow at a time indicated by arrow 171, which is a predetermined time period 172 before the automated paintball player O1 is reenabled as indicated by arrow 173. The automated paintball player O1 then resumes shooting paintballs as indicated by arrows 174 either immediately or after a predetermined delay time 175 according to the operating characteristics of the automated paintball player O1. The time period 170 can be adjusted depending on whether the human player X1 is a novice or expert, and the information provided by the automated status indicator 16 can also be varied depending on the experience and ability of the human player X1. Audio cues could be used to assist visually impaired players in participating in the game.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are end and side views, respectively, of a paintball gun 180 mounted on an axle 181 which is supported by side brackets 182 which, in turn, are mounted on a base 183. The axle 181 can be rotated by an elevation control motor 184 to control the vertical angle of the barrel 185 of the gun 180. The base 183 can be rotated and the rotation of the base 183 is by an azimuth control motor 186. The elevation control motor 184 and the azimuth control motor 186 are driven by a local controller 187. Although two degrees of freedom of motion are shown in FIG. 14, even six degrees (or more) of freedom of motion (x, y, z, tx, ty, tz, etc) can be used to maneuver the paintball gun 180. The motors 184 and 186 are servo or stepper motors in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B. A sight 193 mounted on the barrel 185 can be either optical or laser and is used to orient the paintball gun 180 prior to a paintball game. The paintball gun 180 receives pressurized gas on a gas connection 186. A large paintball hopper 187 supplies paintballs through a flexible coupling 188 to the paintball gun 180. The paintball gun 180 is powered by the connection 195 which may provide compressed gas and electrical power to the gun 180 from a building supply system, thus reducing the need for maintaining filled compressed gas cylinders and batteries on each automated gun installation 180.

A communication link 194 transmits data between the local controller 187 and a regional controller. The local controller 187 generates the fire signal to the paintball gun 180 on a wire 189, and receives signals on a connection 190 from a target 191. The local controller 187 receives power on a line 192.

In operation the local controller 187 operates the motors 184 and 186 and generates a firing pulse on wire 189 in response to data received from the regional controller on the communication link 190. Paintballs from a human player which hit the target 191 generate a signal which is carried to the local controller 187 from the target 191 on connection 190, and the local controller 187 passes the hit information to the regional controller on the communication link 190.

However, it may be preferable to use a linear actuator, such as an air cylinder on shop air, to provide the motion control as shown in FIG. 16. This can be achieved by attaching a linear actuator 200, between a mounting point 202 and a paintball gun 203 using a clevis pin 201. The attachment to the paintball gun 203 by the clevis pin 201 is located some distance from an axis of rotation 204. This may have a lower range of motion than the paintball gun 180 shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, but the mechanism would be more economical, faster, and/or require less distributed power on the playing field.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are front and side views, respectively, of a circular target 210 in which the face of the target 210 is a diaphragm 211 supported by an outer ring 212. Attached to the diaphragm 21 is at least one strain gage 213 which has a connection 214 to a signal conditioning unit 215 such as a Wheatstone bridge. The signal conditioning unit 215 provides a calibrated signal to a controller on a connector 216.

The diaphragm 211, strain gage(s) 213, and signal conditioning unit 215 would facilitate not only an absolute on-off score, but also could assign increasing points for accuracy or speed. The target 210 could be affixed to a silhouette of a human, monster, object, etc. as appropriate to the game scenario. It could be used with or without the visual cues for the circles.

FIG. 18 shows a paintball detector which provides an X, Y indication of paintball hits, along with repeated successful paintball hits. The detector shown in FIG. 18 has two types of paintball detector mechanisms. The first mechanism has an emitter array 220 such as a light curtain, an acoustic curtain, etc., the emissions of which are detected by a receiver array 221 so that a paintball which interrupts one of the emissions of one of the emitters to its respective receiver is detected. The second mechanism, which is orthogonal to the first mechanism, has a emitter and array receiver 222 which emits light beams, acoustic beams, directed RF signals, etc. to a retro-reflector 223 which, in turn reflects back the emissions to the receivers in the emitter and array receiver 222. A signal conditioning unit 224 detects changes in the signals from the receivers in the receiver array 221 and the emitter and array receiver 222 and generates digital data that is passed to a computer on a communication line 225. This detector shown in FIG. 18 not only provides accurate hit position information but, with the addition of a third axis, would enable a reverse trajectory tracking of where the shot came from.

As an option, which can be enabled or disabled under software control, the player O1 (shown in FIG. 12) may have some type of target affixed to it to allow human players to mark, take out, disarm, or kill an automated opponent. While a mechanical bulls-eye type of target 210 is shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, it could in actuality be any target or sensor that would detect being hit by the opposing team. Both teams could be comprised of a combination of both human and automated players, and there may be any number of teams on the playing field, depending upon the game scenario. This could allow the formation of alliances, for example, under software controlled observation. The target, or bulls-eye, on player O1 can be used to grant points based on the accuracy of the opponent, or to disable the player O1 for the duration of the game, a pre-set interval, or a software-determined interval. The target could be a disk, a diaphragm, a photo-sensor array, a light curtain, or any other convenient means, preferably low-cost and reliable, to measure a paintball “mark” or “kill”.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram containing an automatic paintball gun 230, the target 210, a status/intent indicator 232, three electronic modules, a gun interface module 233, an I/O module 234, and a motor control module 235. The paintball gun 230 includes a primary paintball hopper 236 and a larger capacity paintball hopper 237 for holding a large supply of paintballs. The primary paintball hopper 236 and the larger capacity paintball hopper 237 are connected with a flexible coupling 238 to allow for the motion of the paintball gun 230. The paintball gun 230 is mounted on an axle that is transverse to the longitudinal axis of the paintball gun 230 and is located at the center of gravity 240 of the paintball gun 230 to minimize the motion control power requirements. The axle through the center of gravity 240 is driven by an elevation motor 241 and belt 242. A pair of bracket 243 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 20) supports the axle through the center of gravity 240 and, in turn, is mounted on a circular platform 244. The circular platform revolves around a stationary support 245 through an angle of at least 135 degrees and is rotated by an azimuth motor 246 and belt 247. The paintball gun 230 has a pressurized gas coupling 248 for receiving pressurized gas from a conduit 249. A port 250 is connected to the gun interface module 233 by a signal-carrying connection 251. The “G3” shown on the paintball gun 230 represents the mechanism inside the paintball gun 230 which fires a paintball in response to a fire command at the port 250 and corresponds to the “G3” shown in FIG. 10.

The gun interface module 233 performs several functions. One function, as indicated by the “G2,” is to receive fire commands from the I/O unit 234, and convert the command signals to a format compatible with the paintball gun 230. The “G2” corresponds to the “G2” shown in FIG. 10. The target 210 provides analog electrical signals on a wired or wireless connection 252 indicative of whether the target has been hit by a paintball. The analog electrical signals from the target 210 are converted into digital signals by an A/D converter inside the gun interface module 233 and sent to the I/O module 234. Status or intent information received from the I/O module 234 by the gun interface module 233 is converted to relay driver signals to control three relays, a green light relay 253, a yellow light relay 254, and a red light relay 255. The three relays 253, 254, and 255 are used to turn on and off a green light 256, a yellow light 257, and a red light 258 in the status/intent indictor 232. The gun interface module 233 is connected to the I/O module 234 by a bus 260.

The motor control unit 235 receives target coordinates from the I/O unit 234 on connection 261, calculates the proper elevation and azimuth for the paintball gun 230, and drives the elevation and azimuth motors 241 and 246, respectively, to align the paintball gun 230 accordingly in one embodiment of the invention.

In another embodiment of the invention, the gun interface module 233 receives the coordinates of the target and the time that the target will be at the coordinates, calculates the direction and number of revolutions necessary for the motors 241 and 247 to move the paintball gun 230 from its present position to the position to hit the target and passes this data back to the I/O unit 234 which passes the data to the motor control unit 235. Since the correct calculated position of the paintball gun 230 depends on the muzzle velocity and other characteristics of the paintball gun 230, the gun interface module 233 is configured for a particular paintball gun 230. The other modules, the I/O module 234 and the motor control module 235 would be the same for all paintball guns.

The I/O module 234 interfaces with a controller by a wired or wireless connection 262.

The status/intent indicator 232 can have many embodiments such as a sequence of lights to indicate its status, for example, red to indicate that the paintball gun 230 is disabled, blue for not participating in this game, green for enabled and ready to shoot, and yellow to indicate that the status/intent indicator 232 will show green soon. For a novice level of play, the visual cues to the opposing team can be quite strong. For advanced, more challenging play, the visual plays may be less obvious (e.g. yellow, warning time could be shorter) or the indicator lights/visual/audio cues could be disabled. Audio cues could be used to assist visually impaired players in participating in the game.

Other signals or cues can be used to indicate the status, lethality, and intent, etc. of each automated player. Indicators of an audio, visual, or even tactile nature might include

(1) status—if player O1 is alive, dead, waking up, not participating, or off;

(2) intent—a color could be used to indicate that player O1 is the member of a team or alliance and additionally, with novice players, a rotating red or blue light can be used to indicate such alliance;

(3) lethality—a status indicator that might tell opponents how many rounds (paintballs) player O1 has remaining and available to shoot; and

(4) opportunity—indicating if the opposing player XN is within range and targeting capability of player O1. For example, the playing field could notify player XN that he or she has been locked on-to, and that a firing opportunity has been identified by the system. In a low level playing scenario, the human player might be given a warning time to take cover or action prior to being fired upon by player O1. In advanced play, the player XN may be given little or no warning. This would further allow the playing environment to be adapted to the skill level or the preference of the human players. The number of skills can be adapted to fit market conditions and evolve as the games become popular.

FIG. 20 shows a mobile platform 400 upon which the device shown in FIG. 19 may be attached. The mobile platform 400 consists of frame elements 402, a lower body 404, and an upper body 406 which is removably attached to the frame elements 402 with connectors 440. Wheels 407 are idler wheels rotating freely about an axle 405. Wheels 408 are driven wheels attached to drive axles 409 mounted via gear boxes 411 to the frame 402. The motors 410 receive power and control signals on multi-pair wires 412 from motor controllers 414 which include overload protection circuitry. While a wheeled mobile platform is illustrated as the preferred embodiment in FIG. 20, a tracked vehicle or articulated leg vehicle may also be employed. The motor controllers 414 optionally receives shaft encoder data from a sensor mounted to the axles 409 which may be transmitted via multi-pair wires 412, the motor controllers 414, and the multi-pair wires 416 to a micro-controller 424. The micro-controller 424 may record cumulative shaft encoder data to provide dead reckoning position information for navigation and control of the mobile platform 400 when operating in autonomous mode. Alternatively, when the mobile platform 400 is operated under human control, such navigation information may be unnecessary. Optionally, a position indicator 444 may be attached to the mobile platform 400 and provide position information on a wire 446 to the micro-controller 424. The position indicator 444 may be selected from a variety of standard sensors including but not limited to GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) receivers, inertial navigation sensors, or radio-frequency based triangulation sensors. The motor controllers 414 receive power and command signals via wires 416 from the micro-controller 424. The micro-controller 424 may have on-board software to control its actions, or may receive commands remotely via a wire 436 from a transceiver 420. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 20 motion control of the mobile platform 400 is achieved with simple skid-steering commands to differentially power the left and right motors 410. Numerous alternative steering systems will be obvious to one skilled in the art. Commands from an antenna 442 may be received by an antenna 418 and passed to the transceiver 420. The commands from the antenna 442 may be initiated by the master electronic control system for the arena, or by a human player. A battery 432 is removably mounted on the base 404 and provides electrical power via multi-pair wires 438 to the rest of the mobile platform electronics and motors 210. A compressed gas tank 422 is removably attached to the base 404. A manual valve 434 may be used to recharge the compressed gas tank 422 between games, or for attachment to an optional on-board compressor. The outlet pressure supply of the tank 422 is controlled by a solenoid valve 430 under control of the micro-controller 424 via a wire 428. The exit port of valve 430 provides pneumatic power through a gas conduit 249 to the device shown in FIG. 19. The stationary support 245 is common to FIG. 19 and FIG. 20. Similarly, the target 210, and associated devices such as the status/intent indicator 232, may be mounted to platform 406 using convenient mounting brackets 442. A wire 252 is removably attached to the micro-controller 424. Removable attachment points 250 and 251 provide a convenient means to employ the device shown in FIG. 19 for a wide variety of purposes, and to provide convenient access for maintenance of mobile platform 400.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 17, 18, and 19 connections between the various elements are shown as wire connections. However, wireless and well as wired connections can also be used for communication between the elements.

The embodiments described are chosen to provide an illustration of principles of the invention and its practical application to enable thereby one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Therefore, the foregoing description is to be considered exemplary, rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that described in the following claims. 

1. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein said human player has an objective other than, or in addition to, attacking said electromechanical player with said projection weapon.
 2. A game in accordance with claim 1 comprising a plurality of human players.
 3. A game in accordance with claim 1 comprising a plurality of electromechanical players.
 4. A game in accordance with claim 1 wherein said field of play defines an arena having physical limits to play, and wherein said arena is electronically interactive with at least one of said human player and said electromechanical player.
 5. A game in accordance with claim 4 wherein said arena includes a computer controller and wherein said electromechanical player is controlled by said computer controller.
 6. A game in accordance with claim 5 wherein said arena is provided with means for tracking position and direction of travel of said human player.
 7. A game in accordance with claim 6 wherein said means for tracking may be used in a mode selected from the group consisting of open-loop and closed-loop to assist in directing fire from said electromechanical player.
 8. A game in accordance with claim 6 wherein said arena is further provided with controllable variables selected from the group consisting of difficulty of play, light level, sound levels and distractions, visibility, temperature, humidity, speed of response of electromechanical weapons, range and accuracy of fire, number of electromechanical weapons, patterns of fire, weapon loads, sensitivity of the arena to human motion, and combinations thereof.
 9. A game in accordance with claim 1 wherein said projection weapon is selected from the group consisting of paintball gun, laser beam gun, low-voltage taser gun, and combinations thereof.
 10. A game in accordance with claim 1 comprising a plurality of sides of play wherein said human player and said electromechanical player are on opposing sides.
 11. A game in accordance with claim 1 comprising a plurality of sides of play wherein said human player and said electromechanical player are on a common side.
 12. A game in accordance with claim 1 wherein an objective of said game is selected from the group consisting of capturing an object in enemy territory, defending an object from capture, scoring points, solving puzzles, shooting opponents, and combinations thereof.
 13. A game in accordance with claim 12 wherein a player is disqualified from further play for at least a predetermined period of time by being struck by a shot from the weapon of an opposing player.
 14. An arena for use as a field of play for real hunting sport games including at least one real human player, the arena comprising: a) an electronic control means; b) at least one electromechanical player including a projection weapon, wherein the aiming and firing of said weapon is controlled by said electronic control means; and c) at least one item, other than said at least one electromechanical player, that is a player objective.
 15. An arena in accordance with claim 14 wherein said arena further comprises means for controlling variables selected from the group consisting of difficulty of play, light level, sound levels and distractions, visibility, temperature, humidity, speed of response of electromechanical weapons, range and accuracy of fire, number of electromechanical weapons, patterns of fire, and weapon loads, and combinations thereof.
 16. An arena in accordance with claim 14 wherein said arena further comprises: a) means sensitive to motion of said human player; b) algorithm means for calculating a past velocity and direction of said motion in response to input from said means sensitive to said motion and for predicting a future velocity and direction of human motion; and c) means for aiming said controllable projection weapon responsive to said predicting such that a shot from said weapon will intercept said human player absent evasive action by said human player.
 17. An arena in accordance with claim 14 further comprising a plurality of said electromechanical players.
 18. An arena in accordance with claim 17 wherein said arena is adapted for play by a plurality of said human players.
 19. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) a plurality of real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game.
 20. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein said human player fires said projection weapon without touching said projectile weapon.
 21. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein said human player can roam to any position on said playing field not occupied by a another item on said field of play.
 22. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real mobile electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game.
 23. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein said projection weapon of said electromechanical player can rotate through an angle of at least 135 degrees in a plane parallel to said field of play.
 24. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein said human player can move to within two feet of said electromechanical player.
 25. A real hunting sport game, comprising: a) a real field of play; b) at least one real human player; and c) at least one real electromechanical player; wherein said human player and said electromechanical player engage in said game in said field of play; wherein each of said human player and said electromechanical player is equipped with projection weapon means for attacking other players in said game; and wherein at least three teams play said game at the same time.
 26. An arena for use as a field of play for real hunting sport games including at least one real human player, the arena comprising: a) an electronic control means; and b) at least one mobile electromechanical player including a projection weapon, wherein the aiming and firing of said weapon is controlled by said electronic control means.
 27. An arena for use as a field of play for real hunting sport games including at least one real human player, the arena comprising: a) an electronic control means; and b) at least one electromechanical player including a projection weapon, wherein the aiming and firing of said weapon is controlled by said electronic control means; wherein said projection weapon of said electromechanical player can rotate through an angle of at least 135 degrees in a plane parallel to said field of play. 